Mint Tractor

A rather late and newbie question.

I would assume that the tonearm pivot to turntable spindle distance and cartridge stylus to cartridge mounting hole distances are some of the parameters used in determining the final plots of Yip's protractor, my question is would it be possible to use the same tonearm-cartridge protractor on another deck using the same tonearm cartridge combination?

Redgen- I'm pretty sure the answer is that that's only true if the pivot to spindle distance is the same. Often not the case.

Rodgen,

If the spindle diameter is the same, then the Mint tractor can be used for the same arm/cartridge combination. Yip takes the extra step of taking the spindle diameter into account to make sure that the overhand is spot on.

Oh, the spindle size. yes, forgot about that one. Well just measured it with a caliper and it's good news for me. Looks like I can use it for the other record decks.

Thanks to you guys , swampwalker and Isanchez.

Just finished alligning my cartridge with the tractor. Everything went pretty well, about 1 1/2 hours to do the job correctly.

First of all, I found proper lighting to be critical! The first time around setting overhang I thought I had it just right using the light from the magnifying glass (in a well lit area and using my littlite from a distance). On a second take I decided to lay the littlite right down on the tractor, I could now detect I was off the line by a fair margin.

Secondly, I think allignment could possibly be more exact if the thick parallel lines were printed slightly farther apart. My Dynavector 20XL's wider stylus covers those lines, a little open space between the stylus and thick parallel lines would perhaps make allignment a bit more exact.

My new allignment with the tractor exposed the flaws of the VPI and DB protractors I had previously used. Tonight's listening session will illuminate the sonic benefits.